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As jaded parents, we often think of chores like cleaning and grocery shopping as tedious and boring, but your young preschooler is probably dying to tackle these adult tasks. Now is the perfect time to harness that excitement and teach them some useful life skills.
The key to making it fun for your kid is to give them all the tools they need and plenty of space to figure things out independently. Kids get so much more satisfaction from doing things on their own rather than having you help them every step of the way.
Here are a few basic activities that my preschoolers love to do on a semi-regular basis. While they certainly haven’t mastered any of these tasks, they have a lot of fun practicing them and they are getting better every day.
Setting the table
Meal prep times can be frantic for parents, and young kids can be a tough distraction. Keep them entertained and focused by giving them table-setting duty. Set them up for success by making all utensils easily accessible and work with them on bigger tasks such as pouring water for all the family members. The folks at the Vox Clara Family have some great ideas for creating a table-setting station so this task is always achievable for your independent kid.
For special occasions, have them branch out and learn a new skill — Nell at Rhythms of Play has some great ideas for teaching kids the art of flower arranging.
Baking
Kids generally love baking, but following a recipe is tough when you can’t read! Kylie at How We Montessori didn’t want this to be a blocker for her independent young chef, so she created a pictorial version of a muffin recipe. This recipe card was easy for her son to follow and he could tick off the ingredients as he used them. Of course, your kid will need some help at first, but with repeated attempts at the same recipe, they’ll soon become proficient at using measuring cups and adding all the ingredients on their own.
Make this activity even more productive by having them make a muffin recipe for their school lunch to get another chore squared away.
DIY wrapping paper
Young kids’ birthdays usually involve piles of wrapping paper. Save some money and help the planet at the same time by making your own homemade wrapping paper. Give your kid a large sheet of paper and use cookie cutters and paint to decorate it. Check out Glitter on a Dime for more ideas on how to make this beautiful bespoke paper.
Once your paper is ready, head on over to The Natural Homeschool for ideas on how to teach your kids to wrap the correct way. Arm them with some tape, scissors and an empty box and let them practice to their heart’s content.
Shopping helper
Grocery shopping is one of those never-ending tasks that parents love to hate. Get your kid involved in the whole process and it becomes a little more fun for everyone. How We Montessori provides a neat printable of a basic shopping list. You can print this out, or, if you are feeling adventurous, make your own family shopping list by creating a Word document with some clip art and tick boxes.
Ideally, you would laminate it and use a dry erase marker to tick off the items. It’s also fine to print it out and recycle the paper each time. Before the big shopping expedition, ask your kid to look in the fridge and pantry and mark the items that you don’t need with an X.
When you go shopping, have your preschooler bring the list and tick off the remaining items on the list as you put them in the cart. It may seem like a lot of work, but this task has a long-lasting impact and helps your kid learn to plan and work independently.
Shoe cleaning
Dirty boots and shoes are inevitable for puddle-jumping preschoolers. Instead of doing all that clean-up for them, make it into a fun activity. Lay some paper or an old sheet on the floor and give your kid all the necessary brushes and cleaning utensils. Show them how to get the best results and then let them play and work with all the brushes and tools. Head on over to the Tot School blog for some ideas on the best materials to use.
Spray-bottle cleaning
Give your toddler a spray bottle and a microfiber cloth and they’ll be entertained for at least 30 minutes! Make sure to fill the spray bottle with a natural solution such as water with a touch of vinegar or lemon juice. With young kids, you can start with small tasks such as cleaning the baseboards, and with older toddlers you can move them on to window cleaning. You’ll need to give them a kid-sized squeegee and show them how to do it before they start. Kylie at How We Montessori has some great ideas for age-appropriate cleaning tasks and the best spray bottles to use.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in February 2020, and updated in April 2022.
